Valverde, who is also being considered as a replacement for Luis Enrique at Barcelona, has reportedly long held an interest in managing in England.

The idea of moving to Arsenal would be enticing for the Spaniard even if they missed out on the Champions League, claims the report.

While the former Olympiakos and Valencia boss would represent a cheap, attainable option for the Gunners if they were suddenly having second thoughts about Wenger staying on, the chances are that this is nothing more than an exploratory mission from the north London club to see who would be willing to take over the hot seat in a worst-case scenario.